Thranduil's POV

When I already thought, I would return to Middle Earth, a wave of strange music hit my ears, and I found myself standing in the middle of a feast. Little lanterns gave a warm light in the massive nightly darkness. Old wood tables stood in a circle full of vegetables and red meat. The crowd was as noisy as a group of steed, running to war. They were dancing and talking, holding wine and another golden drink with white foam on its surface. I felt so much energy coming, as they were turning and turning again in their dance, it was hard to only walk between the couples. They were definitely touched each others waist. I honestly thought, Noira just wanted to irritate me by doing that on the Starlight Feast.

Taking a second look around, I saw, there were not only elves, but orcs, men, and another thing, I've never seen on Middle Earth. Their blue skin and horse-like legs would have made me think, they have been rather animals, but next to these differences, they looked enchanting. Just at the next moment, an orc man fell down from the table, he was dancing on with a blue lady, and now, he was laughing tearfully, lying at my feet. It was so grotesque, I had to laugh as well. Searching for Noira, scanning the hundred of faces, I heard a familiar melody.

'...race the dark
It feeds from the runs undone
Meet me where the cliff greets the sea...'

I stepped toward the singing elleth, but I was naive to think it could be her. This elleth was much shorter and wore linen clothes instead of an armor. The dancing couples were flying through my body, till I was standing there glaring. And then, I glimpsed her at the other end of the glade. A tall, blonde ellon hugged her tightly, while she was laughing against his chest. He lifted her jaw and kissed her. My Noira kissed him back of course. It was strange seeing her with somebody else, but I could not blame her. I felt the love, she felt for him. She pulled him toward the dancers, and they joined them for the next song. I leaned my back against a bole, and watched, how incredibly happy she was.

'Ryan, slow down' she shouted laughing, and the ellon turned her even faster, then before. When the song ended, they picked up some from that golden drink, and sat down to a lying bole a little farther from the noise. My legs moved, and I followed them automatically.

'There's something, I have to tell you. I just hope, you won't hate me for that' the blonde one said. Noira didn't say anything, but her face went serious, as she was waiting for him to speak.

'I started to work in the palace'

'What?' she asked quite loudly, and he placed his palm onto her mouth immediately. She tore it away, but continued a little more quietly. 'You're working for the king?'

'Not because I wish to. But you know, there's no way to find any weak points of him from outside of those walls.' She was listening mutely, but slowly, her face went white as the snow.

'He will kill you'

'He won't-'

'It will turn out, and you and your whole family will be executed!' she said in clear shock. He hugged her tightly, petted her head, and for a long minute the only sound we could hear was the night forest and the blunt music, reaching us from between the trees. Then, the ellon spoke again.

'I need to be there to check the front board. Noira, one of the guards has said, there's a board at the assassins' corridor. They can read the name of the ones, who has to be killed that day, every morning. They get the names, and try to be the first to find them. For the one, who kills, the one, who gets the gold. We could save ours, if I knew, who is in danger, just imagine!' Noira stayed silent, but slightly shook her head.

'And maybe I will find the Azure Stone! The one, what can destroy King Roul!'

'Don't forget, it is in the very center of the world. By moving that stone from its place, you would destroy this whole world as well! It has to stay at the very place it is now!'

'I know, I will find out, how to use it on another way' he said quickly. 'But firstly, I have to find it between those cursed walls'

'Only the king and his adviser know its location... not any guard or servant' Noira said under her breath matter-of-factly. 'Ryan, you won't die, will you?' she asked, swallowing her tears. He shook his head, and placed a kiss on the top of her head. She spoke again, but I could not hear it anymore. Their forms became blurry, and I knew, I would leave this place again.

°°

The last minutes planted that chilling feeling into my heart, something terrible would happen. As the picture cleared, and I saw her sitting on the ground at a lake, it was hard not to walk there and comfort her. I had a very bad anticipation about the things, I've just heard. I was waiting there, behind her for a while. She didn't even stir, and it looked like, we were alone near and far. I took some silent steps, sat down next to her and looked down at her pale face. She glared forward to the crystal clear water with dead eyes. Without emotion, without the well-known glimmer or warmth in it. She didn't even seem to breathe.

A little noise hit my ears, and Lucien sat down at the other side of her, glaring at the nothing too. The stress was touchable in the air, till he finally broke the massive silence.

'Are you happy now, you chosen one?' he pushed the last words with disgust. 'My little sister, who owns the greatest power on these blasted lands, but that is not enough for her, no... She wishes to jump into a portal, what her mother and her beloved Ryan have already died for!'

My lips parted. Oh, for the Valar! Her face was still unreadable, as she spoke.

'They have been murdered by King Roul, and not me'

'Bullshit! Ryan was not a hero, he only wanted to show, how much he loved you! And mom was killed, for she was not able to betray adar, and the madness, he is working on at home!' Noira stayed silent. 'TELL ME SOMETHING YOU COWARD!' he yelled into her face, making her jump in fright.

'I'VE NEVER ASKED THE POWER, NOR THE SPACE IN THAT PROPHECY! YOU CAN HAVE IT, IF YOU WANT TO!'

'LIAR!' Lucien roared back, and hit her. She did not protect herself, just fell to the ground, holding her aching head. Hot tears filled her eyes slowly, but for then, Lucien was already gone.

'Could you all forgive me?' she whispered, and started to sob against the ground. I moved, trying to touch her trembling form, but she disappeared.

°°

When a sharp knife flew in front of my eyes I sensed, everything has changed. I was standing on a battlefield. Without my armor, weapons and army. I felt I was naked. Another knife flew next to my head, and then I could see, it was rather some kind of ice-shard. A hundred black ghost-like creatures surrounded us, while Noira attacked them again and again with sharp ice-blades, but sometimes she just waved her hand, and an invisible power cut the enemy in two. I blinked, but could not see how she has done that. Her brother also appeared from behind, and pierced smaller shards into their hearts too. Until he was fighting, she stepped back and closed her eyes. A shiny energy was collecting around her, and with a simply move, a huge white storm left her body, and killed every one of them, only she and Lucien stayed alive. It was only a moment. A flash. I could not believe, what I've seen.

Of course she had killed those orcs in the Mirkwood forest, when she arrived! That was out of question! The strange thing was, she had not killed anybody else. Not Fräynn, neither me. But why not? When I reached the end of this thought, we were already running on a dark corridor.

'Which way?' she shouted, stopping at a corner. Lucien pointed at the right, and we hurried again between the stone walls. It had to be the palace. I expected to meet guards or soldiers, but the place seemed empty. We stopped suddenly, and I glimpsed at a huge board in front of us. Noira was reading the little papers, what were hanging there. A name was written on every one. Lucien didn't even glimpse at them, he just looked like, he wanted to left this place as soon as possible.

'Noira, even if you killed all the shadows, there's much more, what will come! The king knows, you have escaped! We have to go now!' She kept reading. Lucien grabbed her wrist and pulled her away. They were standing under the light of a torch now, and I saw, her body was covered with black marks, cuts, and signs of burning. She had to be tortured. I stepped closer for taking a better look at her. Little spots were still bleeding around her mouth. Only if earlier it had been... stitched?!

'I had enough time to get to know the palace. I know the shortest way out, just please follow me finally!'

'How do you mean, you had the time? When have you arrived?' she asked, while was searching for something between the thousand names again. She didn't even realize, his brother didn't answer the question. I did.

'Whoever you are searching for is probably dead for now! Twenty well-trained assassins got the names in the morning! It's nearly noon-'

'ADAR!' Noira's scream cut the air as a knife, and she rushed out of the palace as a lightning, followed by us. I glimpsed their little house from the far, and as we neared, I saw something shiny lying in the snow. It was the bird, Pharaon. The one, they were riding. Its paws were bloody, if it would have been fighting against something, before died. Noira glimpsed at the bird, gasped, but did not slow down, until she reached the door.

Her hand rested on the latch already, when she looked down, and saw fresh red blood floating out under the door. She shivered, stepped out of it, and leaning to the wall, vomited. She breathed loudly, as tried not to collapse. When she could stood on her legs steadily, she opened the door, and stepping into the plash, walked into the living room without a word. The smell of blood filled my lungs immediately, and when I saw her father's dead body, my dizziness just grew. Noira sat down onto the floor, holding the ellon's white hand.

'I had told you' Lucien's emotionless voice came from the door. He walked to her, and pulling her up, hugged her tightly. She grabbed his clothes, and hid her face into his chest. 'Do you wish to take revenge, my sister?'

'I WANT' she cried, and then, her brother pulled something shiny out of his packet. An azure stone.

Noira's eyes widened. She stepped back, looking at him in shock. Her voice was merely a whisper when she finally spoke. 'How could you get that?'

The ellon made a wide smile. 'It was not that hard, since I've won his majesty's trust. For a very long time now. At least, the most of his trust' he saw, as Noira blinked confused. He sighed. 'He was just a guard. You can find a better one to love in a day'

Her mouth opened. I stepped to her immediately, cursing myself, for I could not protect her from what followed. She shook her head slowly, but was not able to move.

'His majesty gave a quite rare title to me, after I have confessed something precious this morning. What else could be better for showing my loyalty' he didn't finish the sentence, but his glare wondered to his father's body, who was still lying in his own blood. 'With this title, I've got the knowledge I was seeking such a long time now' he smiled at her and pointed to the floor. 'Kneel... in front of the new adviser'

'Brother' Noira said weakly. 'Just tell me it's nothing but a nightmare!'

'If it's better to you, then it is. Now I can use the stone for building a better realm for us. As it was destined, before you and father ruined everything!'

A teardrop left Noira's eyes, running down on her cheek, while she was watching his brother go totally insane in front of her eyes. Then, she finally moved. With a flash, she reached her swords, what were leaning to the wall, and turned to him.

'Do you have any idea of what you have caused?' she hissed, and suddenly, the ground started to move under our feet. The dying material slowly disappeared from under our feet, making us loose the balance and fall to the floor. Lucien looked around in clear shock. The sky darkened outside, taking all the light back from us in the house as well. Even the stars hid, making everything completely black. We were standing in the azure light of the stone in his hand, while the sound of the destroying world went close to unbearable. The sound of the hundreds of falling trees, suffering, dying animals, breaking buildings, fire and those million screams, it froze the blood in my veins, and didn't allow me to move. It felt like the dead of this whole planet would have sit on my chest, blocking my breathing. Their history and future, their culture and languages! All the species, the nature, the mountains and rivers! It was more, than I could imagine. The hot air, what was creeping in under the door just made it worse. I was about to faint.

'WHERE DO YOU WISH TO RULE, IF YOU PERISH THE WORLD, YOU FOOL!' she shouted, letting her teardrops flow, when suddenly, the little stones on the floor started to shine. The portal worked.

'When everything ends' I repeated his adar's words, now getting really sick. He has known.

They stood stock still for a long moment, looking in the eye. Then at the very same moment, they both rushed to the triangle. Noira jumped in first, and grabbed Lucien's arms to hold him out. They tried their best to push the other away. Letting the one die, who they were growing up with.

'NOBODY HAS SAID, I HAD TO RULE THIS WORLD, ANYWAY' Lucien hissed. 'WHEREVER THIS THING GOES... IT WILL BE FINE FOR ME!' he roared, just when she formed a piece of ice, and pierced it into his chest. The ellon's eyes widened. He went silent, all I could hear was the great perishing and Noira's bitter crying. She pushed him away, kicked one of the stones away, breaking the magic and disappeared between the lightnings. Just when the ground opened.

°°

I panicked.

Will I die here? Why am I still here anyway?

I blinked and my eyelids closed heavily. I could not open them again. I quickly touched the floor next to me, but It was soft this time. Slowly, I started to feel, if I was lying, and not sitting. When my eyes opened finally, I saw the familiar ornate ceiling of my palace, and Noira's worried face, as she pierced her gaze into mine. I found myself lying across her bed.

'What the hell took that long?' she asked angrily, cupping my face. She looked so different now. So smooth and calm. Not wearing armor, not covered in blood, not crying and suffering, but wearing a soft night dress, and a half-hidden smile. And those shiny eyes of hers. They were full of life and love. Maybe some angry lightnings too, but at least not tears. Her hurt I felt still did not allow me to breathe normally. I shivered, and felt the room incredibly cold. That was when I realized, I was covered in sweat. Noira's little fingers gently wiped it away from my cheeks. I touched her nape, pulling her close and kissed her. Her sweet lips gently tasted mine, and seemed like none of us wished to end it anytime soon. It was too sweet, too comfortable, too much felt like home to stop.

I suddenly opened my eyes, as I would have woken up from a deep slumber. What would the next memory be? That I threw her into a cell? That I tortured her? That I laughed at her kin? I remembered how I behaved after her arrival, and finally pulled away. She looked at me confused, but I just grabbed her, and held her tight for a long minute.

'I'm sorry' I said against the soft skin of her neck.

'Shh' she started to pull away, but I did not let her go. 'Your majesty, what are you doing?'

'Comforting you'

'But I am fine' she laughed.

'I do not care'

'As you wish' she kept laughing on that sweet and warm voice of hers. 'Any question?'

'Only one has left' I said, and she raised a brow. 'You put me into the bed all alone?'

'Almost. Freya held your feet. Poor girl, she was deathly afraid of touch even the heel of your boots' I blinked with big eyes. 'Hey, you were like a rag-doll, I had to! Otherwise, the guards would have thought again, I had killed you'

'And how had they not thought that anyway?'

'They did, but I've killed every one of them' she said lightly. I remembered of the massacre, she made immediately, and I probably paled, because she looked at me questioning.

'I just hope you have not'

'Don't worry' she laughed. 'Nobody dared to enter here since I've told, you have been quite ill-tempered now. Come, have a bath, you are freezing!'

°°

After my bath was ready and we departed, Noira took her way to the garden. She told me, she wished to take a walk at the lake, for it is probably the most beautiful at dawn. The sun really reached the top of the mountains, till I finally came home from that forgotten world.

I sat into the hot water, and leaned my back to one of the walls.

How marvelous that land was. How full of life. I could not look at Noira in the same way after that. She was not just that rare, wild bird anymore, what just flew in through the window of my palace and tore me out of my grey thoughts. I felt her so close now, it was like we would have been physically close, but in soul, we have missed each other by a mile before.

I was not trembling anymore, but the boiling water was not enough for me to stop freezing. I could still feel the flames on my skin and hear the screams and dying gasps. Shaking my crownless head, I tried to hide these thoughts, until I had to sit back on my throne again. I needed a cool head, or at least, I needed to act like I had it. But then, as a bad joke, a new memory changed the old one.

Your world will burn, I heard the orc's words again crystal clear. The flames of war are upon you.

I jumped out of the water, and was searching for my clothes in a hurry. There's no way, I let the same horror happen in this land! My kin will not suffer this damage! Noira will not suffer it twice! Neither me! Neither my son!

The last word just hit me in the head. When I was ready, I rushed out of the chamber, and took my way down. I was crossing nearly the hundredth corridor, when glimpsed the ellon I was searching for. It would have been enough to shout his name from the bath too, but the adrenaline did not allow me to stay there anyway.

'FRäYNN!' I yelled right behind him, and he almost fell in his feet, while turned to me. 'My son?'

'Your majesty' he bowed 'Prince Legolas is still on his journey, as you have-'

'Send for him, he has to come back now!' I commanded him, and the sudden anger filled my voice. 'That worthless elleth, who caused him to leave is free to die wherever she wishes to! She is banished, and not allowed to take her feet inside of our borders anymore!'

I grabbed my sword and rushed out, not waiting for him to react. Why would I have done that? I needed to find Noira, who has chosen to spend her time next to the woods, what was full of enemies.